Means for removing heat and moisture from the pressing elements of laundry pressing machines



Sept. 5, 1950 w. F. GAYRING 2,521,512

MEANS FOR REMOVING HEAT AND MOISTURE FROM THE PRESSING ELEMENTS OF LAUNDRY PRESSING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 9. `1947 FIGZ 30 4 O` s .AT TORNEYS.

W. F. AYRING AMEANS FOR REMOVING HEAT AND MOISTURE FROM THE PRESSING ELEMENTS OF LAUNDRY PRESSING MACHINES Slept. 5, 1950 Filed May 9, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ff O 34 a ,'...puurplrllIL/Illlln IIVVEAIIOYR.,- O wALLAcE 4F ycsAYmms ATTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 5, 1950 TURE FROM `THE PRESSING ELEMENTS OF LAUNDRY DRESSING MACHINES Wallace F. Gayring, Minna, N. Y., assignor to The Prosperity Company, Inc., Syracuse, N. corporation of -New York f,

' Application May 9,7194?, serialN'o 746,997 i 1 Claim.

Ihis invention relates to means for removing haar thefw'orkv is moist when being pressed, and has for its bbjeot constructions by which the heat of the heated pressing elements is gently withdrawn, or' deflected, from the -pressing face of the upper pressing' element when the press "is open, away from the face 'of the operator and out of the room in which the machine is located, and also the heat'and moisture withdrawn from the work and the padding of the lower pressing element when the press is both open and closed. f

Itralso 'has for its object, a control of the heated air radiating from the pressing elements to reduc'eto a minimum the interchange of air between theY pressing elements of the machine and the surrounding atmosphere, thisbeing a 'desid-l eratum when the machines are located in an air conditioned room, and to facilitate the drying ofthe larticle being pressed.

The invention consists in the novel features and in'the combinations and constructions hereinafter'set forth and claimed.

In describing this invention, reference is had to the'accompanying drawings in which like char'- actersvdesignate corresponding parts in all the views. i, Figure 1 -is a side elevation of one embodimentv u gn'ffheatedV to keepthe pressing face I2 hot. The

of a machine embodying this invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation partly in section.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary-sectional view of the lower pressing element and the padn ding thereon.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary rear elevation, partly in section, looking to the right in Figure 2. y

Figure 5 is an inverted plan view of the lower pressing element.

The pressing machine and its operating mechanismmay be of any suitable construction. It includes upper and lower pressing elements I, 2, the upper pressing element being movable toward and from the lower. It-is here shown as carried by thev usual yoke or lever 3 pivoted at 4 to an upwardly extending arm 5 forming part of the frame 6 of the machine. This arm is actuated by any suitable actuating mechanism located within'the frame 6. The frame is provided with a cabinet enclosing the mechanism. The lower pressing element 2 is mounted on a suitablesupport or gooseneck 1 which, in turn, is'mounted on the top or table 8 of the pressing machine.

The invention includes a machine of this type having an opening and closing movement, with and moisture from the pressing elements of garment or vlaundry pressing machines in which l (C1. en -)y f the'upper elementhaving a hood venclosing the providing a chamber saine and' spaced therefrom open'atfthel-pressing face oi the upper pressing elenjieiit,"x the lower element being formed with a 5 perforated topA and a chamber below the top in communication with said perforation, and means forsimultane'ously creating vacuums in the hood andsaid chamber.

The invention of the machine further includes l0 providing the ing chamber theunder side'of said relation therewith in order to not only facilitate the heating Yofzthe lower pressing element lafter the 15 machiriefisin operation, but' also to heat incomlng.

around the margin only thereof on margin in heat conducting the same, and Aalso. keeps vapo-rized, or converts articles being pressed` into'thepadding.

The* upper `pressing element is enclosed in a suitable hood 9 mounted thereon to move there-l withfit, enclosing a vacuum chamber I0 extendf ing over and conforming to the upper pressing Zelement I, and the side walls thereof being spaced i fromthe edges ofthe upper Vpressing element I,

at 'I I. The side walls are in a plane about iiush withfth'e pressing face I2 of theupper pressingvelement The pressing velementi is internally hood llis vpro'videdvwith a heatinsulating inner layer I3, andthe edges ofthe side walls are covplate which is perforated, this chamber terminating sli-'ort ofthe marginal edges of theloWer pressing element. The lower element is also provided with a padding which 'includes some sheets of 4)"materials that are capable of absorbing moisture.

Ashei'eshown, the padding includes a layer I6 of what` is known as a spring' padding, this being covered'by a metal wire screen lflfon which is superimposed a layer I8 of steel wool, over which is l'aid a layer of cloth I9 which may be flannel,

or ber glass, and the whole being covered by a wrapper 20 of fibrous material, usually a cotton cloth, or of a nylon material. The wrapper 2l] extends around the side edges o f the padding and is secured at 2], around'its edges, to the lower pressing *element I5. The cover cloth is porous andhence, `aircanpass therethrough for a purpose to be presentlydescribed.

The lower pressing elementis also heated,but after the press is in operation it: is heated addilower pressing element with a heaty y. drawn in during the suction operation, which incoming air passes throughthe pad,rdriesl ered "by a channel shaped burn guard I4. The lowerlpressing element 2 is` provided with a vacu- 35"?i1m chamber I5-on the lower side thereof of its top tionally by heat from the upper pressing element during pressing operations.

One of the features of the invention is the heating of the lower pressing element -around the margin only thereof, as by a heating chamber 22, this encircling the yside walls of the vacuum chamber I5and being in heat conducting relation to the margin of the top plate. Steam for heating is supplied to the upper pressing element through inlet and return pipes 23 and 24 from any suitable source, these pipes being heat insulated to prevent, as far as possible, the exchange of heat between them and the air of the room. The steam chamber 22 and the chamber I5v are insulated also by a covering I5.

The steam is circulated from a suitable source to the marginal heating chamber 22 of the lower pressing element through an inlet pipe 25 and return pipe 26. The hood 9 is connected to a suitable source of vacuum as the intake end of an exhauster 2l through a header 28 on the hood 9 and communicating vwith the chamber II! at two points, pipe to a swivel coupling 3l located coaxially with the pivot 14, andpipe 32 to the intake side of the exhauster 2l. The exhaust'er discharges through. a pipe 33 outside of the air conditioned room. .The bore 134 of the header 28 gradually increases in diameter from the end attached to the pipe 30 to the other end in order to more evenly distribute the pull of the vacuum within the hood 9.

The vacuum chamber I5 is .connected to the intake side of the exhauster 21 by a header 35 opening at two points into the vacuum chamber I5, and a pipe 3B having a bend at 3l thereinconnected at 38 to the intake side of the exhauster 21. The `exhauster is actuated in any suitable manner as by a motor 39, or several machines connected to a central vacuum system.

In operation, the blower rotates at such speed as to create a gentle vacuumor suction in the hood 9 suihcient only to deflect heated air from the pressing face I2 of the upper pressing elements into the hood 9 through the inlet II, and also to deflect any uprising currents of air from the lower pressing element into the hood when the press is open. The vacuum is also sucient only to deflect air currents down through the padding through-spring pad section I6 and into the vacuum chamber and out through the exhauster, and also to create an in-draft of air through the edge portions, ofthe cover cloth 2t through the spring padding I6, this air being heated by conduction from the marginal heating chamber 22. The air is thus heated to a sufficient extent to prevent condensation of the moisture within the pad so that it is withdrawn in vapor form through the vacuum chamber I5, pipe 36, and out through the exhauster 21, the suction beingregulated so that there is a minimum of outside conditioned air displaced. The displacement of the air conditioned air is also minimized by the fact that the moisture for the most part makes up the body of air passing out through the exhauster, the vaporbeing generated from the moisture in the damp articles being pressed during the pressing operation. Ordinarily, the steam thus generated was allowed to escape into the room. To further minimize the exchange of air, the air supply may be from outside the air conditioned room.

This press is particularly applicable for air conditioned laundries without requiring a complete change over of the pressing machines for new cabinet types of machines especially built for air conditionedlaundries.. A.

In commercial laundries, the heated pressing machines are in effect heaters or stoves. In the spring and summer months, working in the room in which the pressing machines are located is extremely uncomfortable and at times almost unendurable and, under the labor situation prevalent nowvand during the past several years, laundrymen have experienced great diiculty in getting and retaining press operators in spite of high wages. It was found that operators preferred other jobs at much less pay, as clerks, etc., in air conditioned establishments. The cost of maintenance of air conditioning in the press rooms of laundries is prohibitive and reflects in an increase in the already excessive consumer cost of the launderedarticles. The pressing machine equipment installed in laundries throughout the country is, vfor the most part, in good condition. It would be uneconomical and wasteful to junk this equipment to install new presses built especially for use in air conditioned press rooms even if the special machines were available and plentiful, and if business and financial conditions warranted the substitution. By this machine, the present press equipment can be modified. at a comparatively small cost to be used in air conditioned press rooms by exchanging the upper and lower pressing elements for those of this invention with blower equipment. Part of the old equipment, as the head or upper element, may be used for another exchange by being equipped with a hood.

By this machine, heat and moist air due to the operation of the machine is discharged as such outside of the air conditioned room, and also may be used in heat exchangers. There is very little exchange of heat and air between the machines and conditioned air. Hence, the cost of maintenance of the air conditioning system is increased very little over that of a room of the same size not having the pressing machines therein. Owing to the construction of the lower pressing element, heat is not radiated therefrom into the room except to a small extent, and the air withdrawn by the vacuum in the lower buck is also minimized by the fact that it is loaded or made up, for the most part, of steam or vapor generated'from the garment being pressed. At the same time, the heated air is deflected from the face of the operator due to both the vacuum in the lower element and the vacuum in the hood of the upper pressing element.

What I claim is:

A laundry press including upper and lower pressing elements, at least one having an opening and closing movement, the upper element being heated and having a hood enclosing the same and spaced therefrom providing a chamber open at the pressing face side of the upper pressing element, the lower pressing element being formed .with a perforated top plate and a chamber below `means including an elongated header extending longitudinally along the top of said hood'inwardly of the sides and ends thereof and communieating at opposite ends with the chamber Within the hood, and an elongated header extending longitudinally along the underside of the bottom wall of the chamber below the perforated plate of the lower pressing member inwardly of the sides and ends thereof and communicating at opposite ends with said chamber at opposite end portions thereof.

WALLACE F. GAYRING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Chase May 27, 1919 Number Number o Numberv 

